Pathogen to War

Chris and Melanie are joined by Zack Cooper of the American Enterprise Institute to discuss Mark Hannah’s recent War on the Rocks article “Stop Declaring War on a Virus.” They discuss why ubiquitous use of the war metaphor might affect how we deal with the coronavirus pandemic, if America’s focus on defense is to blame for our less-than-stellar handling of the health crisis, and how political leaders can use the rhetorical framework of war to rapidly increase government power with little oversight. Chris explains why social distancing (at this point) doesn’t violate libertarian principles, Zack denounces China’s threat of economic retaliation if Australia continues to push for an investigation into the origins of the pandemic, and Melanie has some praise for the Commandant of the Marine Corps.